I’ll bet that you’ve heard about this theory that we only use 10% of our brain’s
potential and if we could do more than that, we’d have superpowers, teleport and maybe
time-travel. This is a century-old myth that got everyone hooked on the idea that if we
had more knowledge, we could surpass Einstein. It all goes back to the 1890s, when a psychology
professor at Harvard claimed that humans don’t reach their full potential. His statement
gained a ton of momentum and started spreading. In the 1920s, a self-help movement began based
on that belief, where a ton of books came out trying to motivate people. But the 10%
myth was a misinterpretation of neurological research in the late 19th century. Neurologists
have now disproven it, saying that on any given day, we’re able to use 100% of our
brain. So, what would happen if we gained infinite
knowledge? Picture this: You’ve woken up and you feel
differently. You scan around your room and see the plant you bought two months ago. Suddenly
you know its name, what plant species it is, when it came into existence on Earth, when
it will cease to exist, and how it grew from a seed. You watched its life flash before
your eyes. Then, at the corner of the room you catch
a quick glimpse of the guitar your mom got you from a thrift store. You see how it was
manufactured decades ago and who purchased it first. You listen to the songs played on
it around a campfire and how the owner ended up giving it to charity. But then, you see
its future. You’ll accidentally break it in three years while you’re moving out of
your parents’ house. You head downstairs and meet your brother
in the kitchen. You see him talking with your mom about whether he’s done his homework
the night before. You’re shocked! Not only do you know what homework he had, but you
can also tell that he’s lying, and you can read his mind.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there could be some benefits to becoming a real-life encyclopedia,
but there could be a downside too. Our brain is like a superfast processing computer
with a ton of storage. More than a billion neurons connect to create the network that
makes up our thoughts and how we understand the world.
Right now, all the neurons in my brain are connecting, and I’m thinking that Mars is
the only planet we know of that’s controlled by robots. What are you thinking right now?
Let me know in the comments. I’m looking forward to reading the weirdest replies.
Your brain is responsible for your sleep, your dreams, your appetite, and every move
you make. Our knowledge capacity is colossal. If we had unlimited information, we could
find a way to live forever. Or we could descend into chaos. Maybe our brain could create a
black hole, or explode. That’d be mind-blowing on its own – Literally. But I’ll get into
that in a bit. The full capacity of the human intellect isn’t
fixed, but some studies estimate it to be 2.5 petabytes. So, if our mind was a computer
it could store up to 300 years worth of videos. And nocc, petabytes are not dog biscuits.
Let’s go back to your room and imagine that you have all the knowledge in the world. There
are three possible outcomes in that scenario. One is that you’ll regret it instantly.
You won’t be able to deal with all the knowledge because you’ll probably learn something
you didn’t want to know. You’d be aware of everyone’s thoughts, feelings, what’s
happening around the world at any given time, and what’s about to happen. So, it could
be damaging to your own sense of self. Another possibility is that you’ll feel
superior to everyone else. You’d know the outcome of any action before it happens, and
you could read people’s minds. Because of this, every consequence will be predicted.
You’d already know every decision a person will make, even before they do. So, it’d
be like watching a movie in real life. And if nobody else is superior to you, then
one of these two things could happen. You’ll turn into a supervillain where you use your
knowledge for bad; or you try the help the whole world. The second one will overwhelm
you. You’ll have to care for more than just one person. I mean, it’s hard enough for
me to keep one Sim character alive. Imagine having to do that with 7 billion people – in
real life. The third possible outcome is that you’ll
lose your humanity. That’s a continuation of the second scenario. Infinite knowledge
is something no human has ever experienced. You’d see what happens beyond the universe.
You’d know about other intelligent life and alien civilizations. You’d even be aware
of whether or not we have souls. Then, you wouldn’t be able to experience the emotions
that make us human; such as surprise, hope, wonder and fear.
Our feelings are based on the unknown. So if you know everything, it’d be impossible
to experience them. You’d become an emotionless robot.
One solution is to ignore what you just learned, and act like it isn’t there. But for how
long? If you’re aware of the outcome of an event, how would you be able to ignore
it? Even then, that’s the least of your problems.
Remember the neurons I told you about earlier? Well, memories are formed through billions
of their connections. These connections are called synapses, and they can become stronger
or weaker. In order to form a memory, the brain uses
two methods: chemical and electrical synapses. The chemical synapses send information through
a neural pathway. Think of it this way: one little neuron releases molecules inside a
small space and the neuron next to it picks it up.
Now, in an electrical synapse, there’s a gap between neurons. So, proteins create a
link to connect the two. Electrical synapses don’t go far, but they are fast. They’re
the ones we use when we need to respond instantly. The chemical one is for processing information
that doesn’t require you to act right away. So, if you had to learn all the information
in the world at once, you’d only use electrical synapses. And if infinite knowledge were to
travel through your brain, it’d overload it. There wouldn’t be enough pathways available
for it to go through. So, automatically, your mind will select the data that’s important
and delete the rest. That means you won’t know everything after all.
But for the sake of argument, let’s assume that your brain has a powerful CPU and huge
processing capabilities. What happens to your memory? Memories are our way of telling time.
The more we have stored in our brain, the more we’ve lived and experienced. That’s
why time seems to pass slower when we’re in class learning new things than when we’re
out having fun. Picture yourself in class staring at a clock.
When you watch the seconds go by, they seem to be moving slower and slower. Your brain
is filled with information as your eyes move. When the pointer lands on the next second,
you’re still processing data; and it appears like time is slowing down.
If you were to gain infinite knowledge all at once, your brain would process that information
FOREVER.. Think of how your computer freezes when you import all the data at once. The
same thing would happen to your mind. Time will freeze and so will your brain. A brain
freeze, without ice cream? Hmmm. But, let’s also ignore these biological
limitations! Can we ignore physics too? Let’s go back for a second. While you’re trying
to learn everything, the electrical synapses will have to create the memories all at once.
There we have more issues. Your brain will get overwhelmed with the flow
of electrons, then neurons will start shooting signals like crazy. The proteins will struggle
to keep up, so everything will go down the same pathway. And that won’t last for long.
The proteins will heat up like an electrical wire because of resistance and they’ll get
destroyed by the current. And this is when gravity comes into play.
Your mind is now a small area with an infinite number of electrons. Like all subatomic particles,
electrons have a mass, and therefore gravity. So, finite area plus infinite electrons equal
a black hole. As the knowledge begins to make its way through your brain, the infinite electrons
will create a gravitational pull and start to suck in everything around you. Including
your plant and your guitar and your brother’s homework.
But your problems won’t end there. There’s a theory that black holes can only grow. But
in this event, something called Hawking Radiation will be more applicable, where the black hole
will evaporate, and so will your brain. So, it’s settled! We can’t beat biology
and we can’t beat physics, it’s usually the other way around.
I don’t know, all the knowledge in the world, including predicting the future seems like
a LOT of work. I’d rather read the occasional book and watch cat videos on YouTube.
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